Psychology 130 Camosun College
Course Outline Winter 2014
Distance Section B.03
Dr. R. G. Tonks
E-mail: through d2l
Phone: 370-3197
Office: Ewing 240
Office Hours: Online "Office Hours": Monday 11:00-12:00
Psychology Applied to Contemporary Issues. This course acquaints
students with major contemporary issues in psychology and considers their
historical antecedents. Topics includes the application of psychological
knowledge on lifespan development, personality, abnormal behaviour, social
cognition, social influence, and social relations to a variety of contemporary
social issues. Topics vary with instructor and changing problems. Pre-requisites:
English 12 or assessment.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Describe major contemporary issues in psychology and explain their historical
antecedents.
2. Apply psychological theories and understanding of current psychological issues to
personal experience.
3. Conduct impartial studies of psychological topics and arrive at logical inferences and
conclusions from collected data.
Beginning with a brief overview of the nature of psychology and a sample of the
diverse areas of human life that it touches, this course aims to provide students
with a foundation in understanding how the basic research methods from psyc
110 can be applied to everyday social issues. This course also aims to help
students develop critical thinking skills needed to understand the social issues to
which we would like to apply our research. An emphasis is placed on
understanding psychology as an applied social science, covering topics such as:
social influence, motivation & emotion, cultural and ethnic psychology,
psychological disorder and therapies, health psychology and personality human
development. Along with providing students with some 'hands-on' training in
carrying out psychological research applied to social issues, there is an
opportunity for students to become fluent with psychological theories and
concepts through seminar activities that accompany the lectures.
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Course Text: There is a free online ebook available inside launchpad
for Myers Psychology 10th Edition.
While we will be following along with the chapters of the textbook, as indicated
on the attached syllabus, the lecture topics may stray from the material covered
in the weekly readings. Students are responsible to read the assigned chapters
as the material is covered in class, however students are also encouraged to
read the assigned material before it is covered in class.
Evaluation: There will be two exams: a Midterm, and a Final Exam; both of
which will be based upon the material covered in the textbook and the online
lectures, assigned readings, and seminar activities. These tests will involve
various multiple-choice and short answer questions.
The Midterm exam will be on or about the date indicated on the course syllabus
and the final exam will be during the regular exam final exam period, so don't
book your travel arrangements until you know when is the final. Both exams will
be held on campus in Ewing Computer Lab, however if you are living out of town
and need to make special arrangements, please let me know as soon as
possible.
There will also be several regular online practice quizzes and take-home
activities as well as ongoing discussion board activity, as part of their course
work.
Online Practice Quizzes: There will be of two types: Learning Curve quizzes
and end of Chapter Quizzes. Both of these types of quizzes are to found
through the link to LaunchPad. For the graded portion of online quizzes you will
be expected to complete one Learning Curve activity and one end of chapter
quiz, each for one mark per chapter.
Once you log in to Launch Pad you will find that there ar e usually two or three
learning curve activities and one chapter quizzes for each chapter. For marks
you only need to complete one of each of these, but it is recommended that you
do more than one of the learning curve quizzes, possibly all for each chapter to
maximize your learning benefits. To get marks for the learning curve, you simply
need to complete one per chapter, while marks for the chapter quizzes you need
to get 50% or better on each.
Take-Home Activities:
Various take-home activities will be assigned throughout the semester. Here
students will be expected to complete the activities by the posted deadline,
making sure that they have been submitted to the drop box for that given activity.
The activities will follow the course lecture material and will involve students
making observations, conducting interviews, providing critical thoughts,
reflections, and comments on their own specific topics as well as discuss with
others in the class. Most activities will involve making a posting to the discussion
board as well as commenting on the postings of other students. The goal here is
the both generate experience and understanding as well as to enhance the online learning community.
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As such the discussion board activity will involve commenting on the the
activity postings of others as well as general discussion of the course materials.
It is important that you make a reply to someone else's posting for each
activity in order to garner these activity points.
Marking Scheme:
Exams:
Online Practice Quizzes 20%
Midterm Exam: 25% - (Week 8)
Final Exam: 25% - (Exam period)
Take-Home Activities: 20%
Discussion Board Activity: 10%
Psychology 130 Syllabus & Readings
Distance Section B.03
Dr. R .G. Tonks
Fall 2014
Week 1 Sept 3 - Introduction to D2L & Course using Meyers free e-book
Week 2 Sept 10 - The story of Psychology - Prologue & Appendix A
Week 3 Sept 17 - Research Methods in Psychology - Understanding human
nature - Chapt 1
Week 4 Sept 24 - Development - How do we become the people we are? Chapt 5
Week 5 Oct 1- Personality - What makes us who we are? - Chapt 13
Week 6 Oct 8 - Social Psychology - Our psychosocial being and processes Chapt 14
Week 7 Oct 15 - Review Week and Catch-up Week 8 Oct 23* - Midterm Exam
Week 9 Oct 29 - Motivation - What makes us do what we do? - Chapt 11
Week 10 Nov 5 - Emotions - Why do we feel like we do? - Chapt 12 (parts a &
b)
Week 11 Nov 12 - Health - How can our minds & relations make us healthy or ill
? - Chapt 12 (parts c & d)
Week 12 Nov 19 - Disorders - What is a psychological disorder? - Chapt 15
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Week 13 Nov 26 - Therapies - How to help people with psychological
problems? - Chapt 16
Week 14 Dec3 Review
Exam Period TBA
Final Exam
Grading Scheme: (Camosun Standards)
A+ 90 - 100
B 73 - 76
D 50 - 59
A 85-89
B- 70 - 72
F 0 - 49
A- 80 - 84
C+ 65 - 69
I = Incomplete*
B+ 77-79
C 60 - 64
*(If the missing work is not completed within 6 weeks from the semester end, the
grade will become F).
Interpretation of Grades
Letter Grades are established according to the college definition as well as my own teaching
experience.
A: Superior levels of achievement. High quality is expected which shows a full
understanding of the work that is is to include some form of exceptional
achievement (i.e. new insight, obvious quality of research, clear presentation
above and beyond the minimum required, better work than the majority of the
class).
B: High levels of achievement. Here a grade corresponds to good work that shows full
understanding. It does not have the same degree of exceptional achievement that
makes an A, but is distinctly beyond the minimum required, and above average.
C+: Satisfactory level of achievement. This is seen as average or acceptable quality.
C: Sufficient level of achievement to proceed with next level of study. Reaches
average work, showing an understanding of the material and the minimum
requirements have been met, however there are usually some errors and
mistakes made that hold the grade here. It does not indicate the student is having
any significant difficulties.
D: Minimum level of achievement for which credit is granted; a course with a D
grade cannot be used as a prerequisite. This grade is given for work that is
present but is not providing sufficient insight or completeness. It is likely lacking in
details, but has some approximation of adequate work.
F: Minimum level is not achieved.
Academic Honesty
Beyond learning basic concepts and research strategies, students are expect to produce
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some original written work that stands as an example of their expressed understanding of
psychology as it has been applied to a specific area of research. As such students will
write article summaries and group reports in their own words, making use of standard
psychological styles of referencing and reporting psychological information.
Plagiarism, or the unacknowledged use of another person's ideas or words represents
academic dishonesty and is grounds for expulsion from the college. Camosun policy
states "If an instructor remains convinced that there has been a violation [plagiarism or
cheating], he or she may assign a grade of F for the work involved or in the course..."
Let's avoid that!
STUDENT RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Students are responsible for reading the assigned material according to the assignment dates
so that they are prepared to participate in online discussions and group tasks. It is essential for
students to consult the chapter study guides since they will reveal the topic activities that will for
the basis of the tests.
2. If a student requires special accommodation to be successful in this course, please contact me
the first week of class.
3. Students, and their prospective participants have the right not to participate in any given
course reserach activity.
4. As part of the course, specifically in the seminar activities, you always have the right NOT to
self-disclose any information.
5. Students are expected to follow certain standards of conduct:
a) Work must be used for this course only, and it must be original-authored by the student
who submits the work.
b) Assignments that are copied (identical or plagiarized) between students will be given
0% for ALL students with identical work. If you want to work cooperatively, inform
me ahead of time.
c) Fabrication of research data is not acceptable.
d) It is college policy that "If an instructor remains convinced that there has been a
violation [such as plagiarism or cheating], he or she may assign a grade of F for
the work involved, or for the course..."
LEARNING SUPPORT AND SERVICES FOR STUDENTS
There are a variety of services available for students to assist them throughout their learning. This
information is available in the College calendar, at Student Services or the College web site at
camosun.bc.ca
STUDENT CONDUCT POLICY
There is a Student Conduct Policy which includes plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to
become familiar with the content of this policy. The policy is available in each School
Administration Office, at Student Services and on the College web site in the Policy Section.
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